Shadow Lord's master is...a Red Dragon?

[Vc0m]

"Before Clara's Lightweight Qualifying match...

Clara Gaster calmly sat at her computer, watching over her past matches (more specifically, her losses, such as ones against Aoi, Alex or Asuka), to find every little thing she did wrong in them. The Lightweight Qualifiers for the LAW Lightweight Championship tourney were beginning quite soon, and she wanted her ascent to be swift and perfect, to make sure she would make it into the finals, and win, to become the first LAW Lightweight Champion...

...the problem came with the actual training for the qualifiers. Most of the girls she usually sparred with were Lightweights, just like her. She couldn't help but see the competitive edge in between them. Though part of her wanted to train with her friends, get better alongside them...her skeptical part was telling her that this wasn't the right thing to do. She didn't want to help the people who might be her obstacles in the tourney, by helping them get better, even though they would more than likely find their own way to improve themselves before the tourney...

...but she struggled with that. Without having her blue-haired friends, or her blonde/brunette crush help her train...what else could she do?

She expressed her concerns to Melody 2 days ago, meeting at greenette's house, while Navi was out on her buisness:

"Meeeeh...I dunno. I feel uncomfortable asking random people to train with me...are you free right now?"

"Not...really, Clara. I barely have time in between matches and my own training..."

"O-oh...I see...", the raven haired chuuni would say, sighing in disappointment...

She would talk over some stuff with Melody, before Navi quietly came back to the house, not greeting either of her friends. From there, she stayed for another 10 minutes, before taking her leave...

As she remembered yesterday's talk, suddenly, a tab pinged on her laptop, indicating that she recieved an email...

:::::::

At the same time, Lyanna has had problems with her return. Her debut...didn't go exactly as planned in her match against Astrid Kernuish, her other matches was scrapped, as her opponent has left LAW. She had little luck tracking opponents for a fight since then, so she's taken to mostly wrestling on house shows, and sparring in LAW's gyms, mostly with ladies about to make their debut in the company...

After a couple of weeks of that, she realized that nothing has changed ever since she joined LAW, aside from the fact that she had 2 places to get money from, her own school, and the company, as she toured around Japan during different weeks. She had to find more people to wrestle against on the TV shows. She mailed that request to LAW's head booker, but until the "lazy ass" (in her words, since it was taken a while for him to check her email (in addition to her sending more than a dozen emails his way to get booked on TV)) read it, she had to make due...as well as check out what other people on LAW were doing, to topple them once she has gotten a chance to fight them.

Among them were people like Alaina Sanders and Katherine Hart...and their respective trainees, Tina Armstrong, who already made waves in LAW by becoming the first LAW Middleweight Champ, and Tracy Canon, who has made more than a few tweets, expressing her want to be the first challenger for the belt, in addition to both women being part of successful tag teams with their superiors.

Legendary wrestlers like them making the next generation of wrestlers making waves so quickly made her feel a tad bit jealous. None of her current class of trainees were ready for the big time. Although one of her students, Lola, was working twice as hard after the unfortunate encounter with one of LAW's Lightweights...though she was still a few years in her school left before she is ready to compete in companies like LAW, she thought...

A day before, she expressed that want with Melody, inviting her to discuss things in a cafe:

"Soooo...what's the problem with waiting until your current students are ready?"

"Too long to wait...you know I am not a patient gal, Mels", Lya retorted, before looking at the greenette with a thinking face: "Would...you like to be my trainee partner?"

Melody was slightly shocked at the offer, before giggling to the woman: "I feel like I'd like to get to stardom on my own or with Navi, Lya. Nat and I probably won't be on such...cold terms forever...I hope...", she would remark, gulping as Navi mood and attitude at Melody still didn't improve after We Are LAW: "But as a tag partner? Sure, give me a call"

"Ghhhhmmmm...that's alright, I guess...but I want a buddy, someone who is already a good solid wrestler, but has room for improvement she is willing to close, which I could help with..."

"Hmmm...", Melody would let out, her gears clearly turning in her head:

"Someone who needs a sparring partner, a tag buddy, and someone with potential to win a title!"

Melody giggled in response, reaching out for her phone, and typing what seemed to be a message on it:

"Hey!", Lya shouted, greenette's eyes instantly shooting away from her phone at the redhead:

"Were you even listening?! What's so funny?!", she said, insulted by Melody turning her attention to her phone:

"It's just...I have someone who wanted the exact thing you are offering"

Lya's brows would rise in interest...

:::::::::::::::

The email Clara recieved was from one Lyanna Eon, of the Eon Wrestling School in Tokyo, Japan, telling her that Melody said she needed some training prior to the Lightweight tourney. The Brit's eyes lit up when she read the email, as she wrote a positive response back, recieving the timing of the training tomorrow a short minute later from the former Red Dragon.

Clara tried to follow as many wrestling scenes as she possibly could, and while she didn't catch the redhead's exploits in Mexico as much as she wanted, she still kept a close eye on her career in Japan, up until her temporary retirement. The fact that Melody and Navi trained with the woman only added to her excitement.

The next day, on a warm Sunday (a day where the school was closed, as she researched) at 12 PM, she walked towards the front door of the school, dressed in a white blouse and a black skirt with a sports bag in toe, entering...

...to find the school almost pitch-black...

"U-uuumm...H-hello?"

Her answer was silence. There didn't seem to be anyone at the school...was she pranked or something...

...just when she thought that, a light shone on the middle of one of the rings...

...and then onto a turnbuckle to reveal a cloaked figure on it!

Clara kept an interested gaze at the figure, as it leapt off the turnbuckle, flipped forwards in the air, and landed exactly in the middle of the ring, before pointing her finger at the Brit!

"A-HAHAHAHAHA! Well met, Shado----..."

"..."

"..."

The figure, who would pull off her hood to reveal a young red-haired woman on the tail end of her 20s would stare at Clara with confusion, with the raven-haired gal staring back at her...

"...baaaah.", the red-haired woman groaned, before turning away from the Brit: "Lola, turn off the lights, and open the blinds. Sorry to take time from your day off, you can go"

"O-oh...ok! Thank you, Ms. Eon!", a high pitched voice would echo from somewhere, as the two lights turned off, and the automated blinders opened up to let some daylight.

"See you tomorrow! Man...what was all that about...", a brunette girl would appear from out of nowhere, muttering something to herself, before her gaze caught Clara in her sight: "Oh! Hello, Ms...? U-um...what are you...doing here...?", Lola would ask suspiciously:

"U-uuumm...", Clara opened her mouth, but didn't find the right words to say to the girl, as she grew visibly worried:

"It's fine, Lola, she was invited here."

"Oh! Then it's no problem! See you later, Ms. Eon! See you later, Miss!"

With that, the short girl had taken her leave, though Clara managed to here some muttering from her, saying: "Man...she was pretty cute..."

With Lola out of the building, Lya would climb down from the ring, and leave her cloak on it's apron, revealing the woman wearing a pearly white sports top and red pants, fully prepared for a potential wrestling match, before approaching Clara:

"Sorry bout that. Me and her got jumped by another wrestler from LAW a while back, so seeing unfamiliar people in here makes her worry."

"Anyways...You dummy!", Lya would accusingly point the finger at the Brit!

"Wh-wh-wha?! What did I do?!"

"Where is your mask? I thought you would arrive in it, I was going to play a bigger evil than your Shadow Lord, asking you to swear allegiance to me while I trained you, etc. etc..."

"I even pulled one of my students from their day off to help with that! And you...dummy!", Lya would turn away with a huff from the Brit.

"Oh! Um...I'm...sorry. I maybe skipped the part where you requested that, Ms. Eon...", Clara would say in an apologetic tone, worrying that she might be turned away by the woman already...

"Hmmmm..."

"She is a bit too...shy and apologetic, especially for a wrestler who wants to be the champion. Eh. At least she is isn't a loudmouthed asshole..."

"Also I didn't mention whatsoever she had to come in a mask...shit...my bad."

"It's fine, Ms. Gaster...actually, screw last names. Clara, right? Call me Lya. A friend of Melody's is a friend of mine", the redhaired woman would warmly tell her with a smile, as she outstretched her for a handshake, with Clara shifting from an apologetic expression to a warm smile similar to Lya's.

"Alright, actions speak louder than words...so go get changed, do a quick warm up, and then we will have a spar! The locker room is that way.", Lya would point to Clara.

"R-right!", the Brit would say, quickly leaving with her bag in hands...

========================

5 minutes later, Clara was dressed in her usual grey tights, yellow boots and kneepads and a yellow top, as she came back to the main training room of the school, heading for the ring in which Lya was passing the time, looking at her phone:

"There you are! Alright...", Lya would say at seeing Clara approaching the ring.

Upon the Brit climbing in, the redhead would start explaining, looking up from her phone:

"Alright, 1 pinfall or submission...or, in case of an accident, a KO, or until either of us gets too tired to continue...or more specifically, you", Lya would stick her tongue out at Clara, obviously displeased at the slight hazing from her trainer:

"Relax. Just a friendly jab...I will be going all out though, so watch out!"

At those words, Clara would silently nod, and get into a stance, ready to take the former Red Dragon on!

"Aaaaand...start!"

Lya and Clara carefully circled one another, the British Chuuni opting for a slower start than most of Lya's matches.

"Alright...that's no problem..."

Slowly, but surely, the 2 women would close the distance between one another, before locking up in a classic Collar and Elbow Tie Up!

While Lya's style was mostly that of a high flyer, she was still stronger than GASTER, who tried to cover all her bases the best she could:

"Ughh...grrrrrr...", the Brit grunted and growled, attempting to overpower the Red Dragon, only to fail, being taken away from the center of the ring towards a corner!

"Alright. Not much in the strength department. That's fine. Mels told me her biggest strength was her technical skill..."

Remembering about that fact, Lya proceded to try and transition to a waistlock behind the Shadow Lord.

Clara struggled, had her arms at Lya's, trying to force the woman to break the hold...but the Shadow Lord couldn't muster the skill necessary to escape!

"D-damnit...what am I doing wrong? I am following the usual escape plan...but it's not working!"

"Hmm...", Lya would let out:

"Ah! She is getting upset. Come on...what's wrong...why can't I------WAAAAAH!"

Clara let out a scream as Lya threw the Shadow Lord through the air, planting her on her shoulders with a German Suplex!

"Hey? What's wrong?", Lya would ask the Brit, while getting back to her feet after the suplex: "Aren't you supposed to be really good with holds?"

"I-I am trying but...GUAAAAK!"

As the raven-haired chuuni tried to explain, Lya would opt to follow up her attack immediately with a Headscissors on Clara's head!

"Don't try! Show me!"

"Ugh..aaagh...!"

"W-w-w-w-what is wrong now?! I always know how to counter this! Why not today?! What happened? What do I do?!"

Panicking, Clara would simply attempt to wriggle her head out...with little success as Lya would tighten the hold...

A full minute will pass with Clara in the hold:

"Hmm...something's wrong. That's not the same girl I was watching hold her own against a top lady in the middleweight division recently..."

"Hey, Clara...maybe we should pa---"

"N-noo...p-please! I can do it...I can..."

"Hm..."

"D-damnit! If I won't escape out of this, I would look like a joke to her! She won't train me!...plus, something is wrong with my head! I can't think of anything! No chance to escape, no clever counter! What happened?! Damnit...damnit...she is going to squeeze the life out of my head..."

Clara weakly continued to resist Lya's hold, while trying to remember her usual way to escape, while Lya grew more and more restless.

"Even if she can't escape, why not tap out...is it the same thing Navi has with pride? ...or is she just embarrassed of losing so easily?"

"Hmmm...alright...if you won't tap to this, time for something special..."

With that, Lya's legs uncoiled from around GASTER's head, instead coiling themselves around GASTER's torso for bodyscissors!

"AAAH! N-noooooo-kkk..."

Clara wouldn't even be able to scream as Lya would also trap her head under her arm. Of what she watched of the woman, she knew it was her signature move, applied at full strength!

"If you won't tap out now, or at least pause the spar, you WILL get knocked out. What will it be, "Shadow Lord"?"

The tone in which Lya said her nickname made her feel worthless...did nothing really change? Was everything she did in the ring up until this point a fluke?

Conceding with Lya's words, she lightly tapped the woman on her leg to signal her giving up.

Lya would immediately uncoil her legs and get her arm off of Clara's throat:

AAAAH! Hah...hah...hah...", finally able to breathe after 2 holds limiting her oxygen intake, Clara would turn to Lya with a pitiful look in her eyes...while Lya looked like she was thinking about something:

"Take a sip of water from the cooler and come back here...I think we'll have a lot to talk about...and if you have your mask with you, bring it here as well."

Nodding, Clara proceeded to do the things requested from her by her trainer. At least she wasn't fully giving up on Clara...yet...

Upon taking a sip of water, and grabbing her mask out of her bag in the locker room, she entered the ring once more as Lya sat cross-legged, inviting Clara to do the same, which she did:

"Sooo...'tsk'...don't need to tell you that was pitiful..."

Clara nodded with an apologetic look on her face

"Here's the weird part. I've seen you wrestle on LAW. You wrestle really well. Even in losses, you make your opponents WORK for their wins. Only difference between now and then is your mask."

"So what's the problem? Does the mask seriously imbue you with magical power or something?"

Clara wouldn't have a straight answer for it, looking around her for an answer...

"...ok...let's take it slow. What was going through your head when you were trapped in my holds?"

"Umm...I...I was trying to find a way to escape...but right as I thought I found it, it would fly out of my head, and I would forget what I wanted to do, while worrying about..."

"OK, no. Rule 1, no anxiety in the ring. Any doubt within your head is a disadvantage against your opponent. Speaking from experience, it will interfere with you worse than any injury.

"U---um..."

"Question 2: You don't feel anxiety in the ring...right?"

"Not at all! Well...mostly not...when on the losing end, I can get a bit worried...but when I find a way to counter, I just execute it, and regain control of the match..."

"Hmm...so what is different to you between here and your normal matches?"

"Ehm...ah..I...I don't know? J-just the mask, as you said?"

"...very well. Get up, and put on your mask...maybe even get into a full Shadow Lord character. Anything to help you relax during the match."

Nodding, Clara would get up to her feet, putting on her signature smiley mask, as Lya got ready for round to in the opposite corner.

"Ready?"

"U-uuum...'cough' 'cough'; Foolish mortal! You will rue the day when you decided to challenge the great GASTER! Mwahahahahahaha!"

Lya would go wide eyed. Within a span of a second, the shy and meek Clara was replaced with confident and powerful sounding Shadow Lord! Clara was quite an actress, she thought.

"Very...very well! Here we go!"

The match started a new, and similar to last time, both Lya and GASTER opted for a slow start, circling their way towards the middle of the ring, where they collided for a Collar and Elbow Tie Up!

And this time, Lya was met with much more resistance from the Shadow Lord!

"Oooooof...Damnit...she is much stronger than she looks!...can't give it up to her though..."

The stalemate lasted much longer than last time, but eventually, the Red Dragon did gain an upper hand on her smaller rival:

"N-noo...you will...fall under my might!"

Losing her ground, GASTER attempted to transition from the tie up, trying to slip behind Lya to catch her in a waistlock!

"No, you don't!"

Lya managed to get her arms caught underneath GASTER's trap, managing to easily break the lock at her arms, quickly answering with a waistlock of her own!

"Hah! No escape now, Shadow---OW!"

The redhead shrieked at the sharp pain in her hands, as GASTER quickly managed to punch at Lya's hands with both fists!

Right as Lya tried to pull her arms away, GASTER would catch her left arm and twist it with a wristlock!

"Ow...ow..."

"That's more like it!"

Despite the pain, Lya was more than happy on the inside.

With the match starting to become more and more competitive, to counter GASTER's wristlock, Lya would flip on flat ground of the ring to counter the twisting motion of the wristlock, grabbing at GASTER's arm herself to yank it behind the Brit's back for a Hammerlock!

"Aaaah..."

With no option to properly counter the hold, the Brit would hook her leg behind Lya's and attempt to kick it from underneath her!

"Woooah!"

Lya would take GASTER on the mat with her, but shove the girl away to avoid getting pinned. Right as she attempted to get up, the Shadow Lord had a different idea...

Quickly getting towards Lya's leg, GASTER would trap it with her arms in a Kneebar!

"OW OW OW! CRAP!"

However, luckily for Lya, the ropes were just one good pull away from her!

With that, Lya would pull and grab the bottom rope for a break!

"I am holding the rope! Let go, GASTER!"

"Grrrr...fine...", the Shadow Lord begrudginly followed the rules, letting go off her sparring partner's leg, stepping away to let her get to her feet.

Lya would check to make sure there wasn't long term damage in the leg for a match, but the pain seemed to dissipate.

"Next time, the ropes won't be there to aid you, Dragon!"

"I might not be the one who is going to need them, Shadow Lord..."

With Lya on her feet the match could start a new, and Lya wouldn't waste any time to take her partner down!

Rushing at GASTER, she would jump into the air, getting her legs around GASTER's head, looking to toss her back first onto the canvas with a Hurricanrana!

"AAAAAH!", GASTER screamed in pain, but her problems were only just starting, as Lya moved closer to her, and coiled her legs around her head once more for a headscissors!

"Alright...let's see if she manages to...OH!"

Right as Lya started to guess whether GASTER would try to counter her headscissors, or go for the ropes, the Shadow Lord would grab at the woman's legs and impressively flip onto the redhead's stomach, holding her legs down for a pin:

"O-one! Two---Woah!"

No sooner had the Shadow Lord mentioned the second count, Lya would buckle under her, tossing the lightweight onto the canvas.

Lya, on the other hand, was extremely happy. Whatever anxiety Clara had in the last match was not appearing now. It was time for her to get more serious.

That started with introducing the strikes into the mix, as the moment Clara would get back up to her feet, Lya would unleash a viscous kick to the girl's side!

"AAAAAH!", GASTER would be shaken by the attack, falling onto her knee due to the kick...

...and Lya wouldn't let on on her, quickly grabbing her head, and driving it into the canvas with a Snap DDT!

"GAAAAAH!"

Right as GASTER attempted to sit up, Lya would complete her trifecta of moves, stepping back and running for GASTER, before jumping and flipping backwards in midair to nail her partner with a Shooting Star Press!

Subsequently, Lya would pin the groaning Shadow Lord:

"One! Two! Th---!"

Before the third count was mentioned, Clara would manage to push herself off the canvas, if even for a second, to break the fall.

The spar continuing, the redhead would grab the raven-haired Brit by her head, pulling her to her feet:

"Alright, Clara...now...AAAH!"

Right as Lya wanted to quip something before her next move, Clara would unleash a hard chop to Red Dragon's chest!

"There is no Clara here! Only the mighty Shadow Lord! Now, kneel before my might!"

"That's how you want to play, girlie? Very well"

With that Lya would unleash her own chop to Clara's chest!

"OOW!"

Clara would quickly trade back the blow to Lya, eliciting a shriek from the woman!

Lya would make sure her comeback came twice as hard...but Clara kept standing!

The Shadow Lord then unleashed another hard chop of her own...

...only for it to miss, as the Red Dragon would take for the ropes!

"H-hey! You coward! Come back her----AAAAH!"

For her calling Lya out, GASTER would get a dropkick to her chest from the Red Dragon, falling backfirst onto the canvas!

"Lesson 2: No taunting if your foe can fight back..."

Granted, Lya herself broke her own rule quite often...but that was beside the point for her now.

For now, to hammer the point home for the Brit, she would grab her legs, turning her onto her back and fold her limbs into a 4 shape, trapping her in a Cloverleaf hold!

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! NO! NO! NO!"

The pain to her spine was enormous. Clara would desperately claw her way towards the ropes, but it was quite a struggle for her to get there.

...but ultimately, she was successful in getting to the ropes, at a price of her back still hurting, even after Lya released the hold.

"Alright...time to finish you off, Shadow Lord", Lya would say as she would stick her tongue out:

"Grr...no! I won't let.....AAAAAAAAH!"

As GASTER rushed to her feet, and rushed at Lya with an outstretched arm, Lya would catch her head with her right arm, turn her back on Clara, and slam her head into her shoulder with a Stunner!

"Sorry, but you will...", the Red Dragon said with a smile, as she straddled the canvas towards the Shadow Lord, before, much like in the previous match, trapping the Brit in Bodyscissors and Dragon Sleeper combo!

"Ghhhaaak! No...no...I can't...lose..."

Clara would try to turn on her side towards the ropes, only for the redhead to pull the Brit back.

There was no escaping the hold, Clara realized.

And as such, much like the previous match, she tapped.

"Mhmm!", Lya would satisfyingly let out as she let Clara out:

"So, sooooo much better!", she would say, wearing a large smile on her face.

"Uuugh...but...I still lost...", Clara would say as she took off her mask.

"Hey! Cheer up! I am not expecting you to beat me day one! You have to train with me for years...and train for a few more solo...to do that!", Lya would say, as she sat down on the canvas, inviting Clara to do the same:

"Back to the original point. You cannot wrestle without your mask. Do you know why is that?"

"U-m...it's a long story...I'd rather not get too much into details about", Clara would say, sitting down to face Lya.

"Alright, won't ask you to go in-depth with that. When did you last wrestle without the mask?"

"A few wee----Um...2 years ago?"

Lya raised an eyebrow in suspicious to Clara changing her answer:

"U-uuummmm...", Clara would say, redfaced

"Can't help you if you don't tell me the truth, Clara..."

"W-well...a few weeks ago...I wrestled with a girl I really like...in her bedroom..."

"Oh...Ohhhhhhh...Alright. But...no problems there?"

"N-no! I just...got it was for fun, and wrestled her for fun that night..."

"I see...one last question. Why didn't you try to wrestle in the mask today in the first place?"

Clara shrugged: "I just...thought that maybe, if it worked in that match, it would work here?"

"Hmmm...but your brain realized that the spar was more serious than what you had going with your girlfriend, right?"

"U-um....I-I dunno..."

"Heh...hahahahahahahaha! You are just too much, you dummy.", Lya would laugh at the Shadow Lord:

"Melody told me you needed help with training before the lightweight tourney...and I will do that...but for a little price."

"Alaina Sanders has Tina Armstrong. Katherine Hart has Tracy Canon. I will have you as my little protege! Not asking you to drop your act and become junior me, of course. Just, let me sometimes accompany you on the matches or tag with you from time to time! You can trust me with keeping your rear covered.

What do you say, Clara?", she would finish, outstretching her hand

"Uuummm...well..."

"What have I got to lose? She said I am a good wrestler..."

"...but she also did that...and look what happened?"

"But she seems so nice...plus, she trained Melody and Navi...so maybe...it will work out better this time?"

"...Sure!"

She would say, shaking Lya's hand, with the partnership between the Shadow Lord and the Red Dragon now official.